§ 7-3-702 — Prohibition against interception or disclosure of wire, oral or electronic communications; exceptions; penalties

(a) Except as provided in subsection (b) of this section,
no person shall intentionally:
(i) Intercept, attempt to intercept, or procure any
other person to intercept or attempt to intercept any wire, oral
or electronic communication;
(ii) Use, attempt to use, or procure any other person
to use or attempt to use any electronic, mechanical or other
device to intercept any oral communication when:
(A) Such device is affixed to, or otherwise
transmits a signal through, a wire, cable or other like
connection used in wire communication; or
(B) Such device transmits communications by
radio or interferes with the transmission of such communication.
(iii) Disclose or attempt to disclose to another
person the contents of any wire, oral or electronic
communication, knowing or having reason to know that the
information was obtained through the interception of a wire,
oral or electronic communication in violation of this section;
(iv) Use or attempt to use the contents of any wire,
oral or electronic communication knowing or having reason to
know that the information was obtained through the interception
of a wire, oral or electronic communication in violation of this
section;
(v) Disclose, or attempt to disclose, to any other
person the contents of any wire, oral or electronic
communication, intercepted by means authorized by this act:
(A) Knowing or having reason to know that the
information was obtained through the interception of such a
communication in connection with a criminal investigation;
(B) Having obtained or received the information
in connection with a criminal investigation; and
(C) With intent to improperly obstruct, impede
or interfere with a duly authorized criminal investigation.
(b) Nothing in subsection (a) of this section prohibits:
(i) An operator of a switchboard, or an officer,
employee or agent of a wire or electronic communication service
whose facilities are used in the transmission of a wire
communication from intercepting, disclosing or using a wire or
electronic communication intercepted in the normal course of
that person's employment while engaged in any activity which is
a necessary incident to the rendition of his service or to the
protection of the rights or property of the provider of that
service, except that a provider of wire communication service to
the public shall not utilize service observing or random
monitoring except for mechanical or service quality control
checks;
(ii) An officer, employee or agent of any provider of
wire or electronic communications service, landlords, custodians
or other persons from providing information, facilities or
technical assistance to a peace officer who is authorized
pursuant to this act to intercept a wire, oral or electronic
communication if any such person has been provided with a court
order directing such assistance. No provider of wire or
electronic communication service, officer, employee or agent
thereof, or landlord, custodian or other specified person shall
disclose the existence of any interception or surveillance or
the device used to accomplish the interception or surveillance
with respect to which the person has been furnished a court
order under this act, except as may otherwise be required by
legal process and then only after prior notification to the
attorney general. Any such disclosure, shall render such person
liable for the civil damages provided for in W.S. 7-3-710. No
criminal or civil cause of action shall lie in any court against
any provider of wire or electronic communication service, its
officers, employees or agents, landlord, custodian or other
specified person for providing information, facilities or
assistance in accordance with the terms of a court order under
this act;
(iii) An officer, employee or agent of the federal
communications commission, in the normal course of his
employment and in discharge of the monitoring responsibilities
exercised by the commission in the enforcement of 47 U.S.C. §
151 et seq., from intercepting a wire or electronic
communication, or oral communication transmitted by radio, or
disclosing or using the information thereby obtained;
(iv) Any person from intercepting an oral, wire or
electronic communication where the person is a party to the
communication or where one (1) of the parties to the
communication has given prior consent to the interception unless
the communication is intercepted for the purpose of committing
any criminal or tortious act;
(v) A peace officer from intercepting, using or
disclosing to another peace officer in the course of his
official duties any wire, oral or electronic communication
pursuant to an order permitting the interception under this act;
(vi) An employee of a telephone company from
intercepting a wire communication for the sole purpose of
tracing the origin of the communication upon request by the
recipient of the communication who alleges that the
communication is obscene, harassing or threatening in nature.
The person conducting the interception shall notify local law
enforcement authorities of the interception within forty-eight
(48) hours;
(vii) A person from intercepting or accessing an
electronic communication made through an electronic
communication system that is configured so that the electronic
communication is readily accessible to the general public;
(viii) A person from intercepting any radio
communication which is transmitted:
(A) By any station for the use of the general
public, or that relates to ships, aircraft, vehicles or persons
in distress;
(B) By any governmental, law enforcement, civil
defense, private land mobile or public safety communications
system, including police and fire, readily accessible to the
general public;
(C) By a station operating on an authorized
frequency within the bands allocated to the amateur, citizens
band or general mobile radio services; or
(D) By any marine or aeronautical communications
system.
(ix) A person from intercepting any wire or
electronic communication the transmission of which is causing
harmful interference to any lawfully operating station or
consumer electronic equipment, to the extent necessary to
identify the source of such interference;
(x) Other users of the same frequency to intercept
any radio communication made through a system that utilizes
frequencies monitored by individuals engaged in the provision or
the use of the system, if the communication is not scrambled or
encrypted; or
(xi) Conduct described in this paragraph unless the
conduct is for the purposes of direct or indirect commercial
advantage or private financial gain. Conduct that consists of
or relates to the interception of a satellite transmission that
is not encrypted or scrambled and that is transmitted:
(A) To a broadcasting station for purposes of
retransmission to the general public; or
(B) As an audio subcarrier intended for
redistribution to facilities open to the public, but not
including data transmissions or telephone calls.
(c) It shall not be unlawful under this act:
(i) To use a pen register or a trap and trace device
authorized by article 8 of this chapter; or
(ii) For a provider of electronic communication
service to record the fact that a wire or electronic
communication was initiated or completed in order to protect
such provider, another provider furnishing service toward the
completion of the wire or electronic communication, or a user of
that service, from fraudulent, unlawful or abusive use of such
service.
(d) Except as provided in subsection (e) of this section,
a person or entity providing an electronic communication service
to the public shall not intentionally divulge the contents of
any communication (other than one to such person or entity, or
an agent thereof) while in transmission on that service to any
person or entity other than an addressee or intended recipient
of such communication or an agent of such addressee or intended
recipient.
(e) A person or entity providing electronic communication
service to the public may divulge the contents of any such
communication:
(i) As otherwise authorized in W.S. 7-3-702(b)(i),
(ii) or 7-3-706;
(ii) With the lawful consent of the originator or any
addressee or intended recipient of such communication;
(iii) To a person employed or authorized, or whose
facilities are used, to forward such communication to its
destination; or
(iv) Which were inadvertently obtained by the service
provider and which appear to pertain to the commission of a
crime, if such divulgence is made to a law enforcement agency.
(f) Except as otherwise provided in this subsection, any
person who violates this section is guilty of a felony
punishable by a fine of not more than one thousand dollars
($1,000.00), imprisonment for not more than five (5) years, or
both. If the intercepted communication is the radio portion of a
cellular telephone communication, a cordless telephone
communication that is transmitted between the cordless handset
and the base unit, a public land mobile radio service
communication or a paging service communication, a violation of
this section is a misdemeanor punishable by a fine of not more
than seven hundred fifty dollars ($750.00), imprisonment for not
more than six (6) months, or both.